Yesterday marked the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens. Whether you're the literary sort or not, it's hard to escape the impact this English novelist made on society. Dubbed as the best writer of the Victorian period, Dickens not only penned a number of great novels, but also gifted the world with such iconic and enchanting characters as Oliver Twist, Ebenezer Scrooge, Nicholas Nickleby, and a host of others. Dickens novels and stories have been so popular that they haven't gone out of print since first being published in the mid-1800s.
Like most children, my first exposure to the works of Dickens was a holiday viewing of one of several film adaptations of A Christmas Carol. Most likely it was George C. Scott I saw mumbling "Bah! Humbug!" and being plagued by unwelcome ghosts. However, if I'm honest, I'm still most partial to Michael Caine's portrayal of Scrooge, opposite Kermit the Frog's Bob Cratchit. The Muppets, teamed up with classic literature, is a winning combination in my book, but that's just my humble opinion.
While I'd already tested the waters of other Dickens novels in middle school, it wasn’t until my freshman year of high school that my class was required to tackle Great Expectations. This was met with moans and groans and negative attitudes that would make Ebenezer himself proud – before his Yuletide transformation, of course. "We have to read a whole novel!" a classmate tried to commiserate with me. He didn't know I was a book nerd, I guess. I found myself thoroughly enthralled by the orphan Pip and the crazy old Miss Havisham who rambles around her dilapidated mansion still adorned in her wedding dress decades after her fellow stood her up at the altar.
In college, while pursuing a literature degree, I was required to read The Adventures of Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and David Copperfield. "Who wants to read this old stuff?" demanded a girl in the work group to which my professor assigned me. The others of us just blinked a bit and exchanged bewildered looks. Were we not cutting edge? Were we uncool? Was it passé of me to think that books that had endured a century and a half of popularity were worth the read? Just as I began performing a self-check on my enthusiasm for literary classics, another student piped up. "You do realize it's Dickens who said, 'Tis love that makes the world go round,' right?" followed by another who offered, "Not to mention, 'Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.'" Oh, camaraderie! Finally!
Yes, nearly 150 years later, language has changed a bit since the days of Dickens. But the themes of his novels are still relevant today and surely worth a revisit. This month, celebrate Charles Dickens' contribution to history and pick up one of his novels. For those of you who identify with Scrooge's miserly habits, might I suggest a trip to the library? It's free!
